Daily Archives: November 1, 2009

elections, health care

Ask Cong. Altmire to Vote YES on Single Payer Amendments

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Congressman Sees Votes in ‘Mid-100s’ for Single-Payer

By Michael O’Brien
November 1, 2009

Take Action: Tell Speaker Pelosi “Reinsert the Kucinich amendment”
Published by The Hill.

An amendment to implement a single-payer health system could get between 100 and 200 votes, one of its sponsors claimed Friday.

Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), one of the liberal lawmakers to have led the push for such an amendment, predicted votes in the “mid-100s” on a provision for a single-payer system in the House–if such a vote is even allowed. 

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health care

Last Call for Meaningful Healthcare Reform

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Healthcare reform is a four-letter word

We are all frustrated by the Affordable Health Care for America Act-H.R. 3962–the House’s lamentable healthcare reform bill, if you can call it reform at all. We think of it as tweaking a badly broken system–at best it’s a band-aid on a hemorrhaging system–although, it does appear to be drawing fewer flies than the Senate version.

There’s still time to make it better-much better-but not a lot of time. The bill will be finalized by 5:00 PM Monday evening.

We need to call the bill’s “managers” on Monday, November 2, and insist that the Kucinich Amendment be reinserted in the bill. Pelosi reneged on her deal with Weiner-she can make up for it by reinserting the Kucinich amendment.

The “gang” that holds our future in their hands includes:

  • Speaker Nancy Pelosi: Washington, DC, office (202) 225-4965; San Francisco office (415) 556-4862
  • Majority Leader Steny Hoyer: Washington, DC, office (202) 225-4131; Greenbelt office (301) 474-0119; Waldorf office (301) 843-1577
  • Rep. Henry Waxman: Washington, DC, office (202) 225-3976; Los Angeles office (323) 651-1040
  • Rep. Charles Rangel: Washington, DC, office (202) 225-4365; New York office (212) 663-3900
  • Rep. George Miller: Washington, DC, office (202) 225-2095; Concord office (925) 602-1880; Richmond office (510) 262-6500; Vallejo office (707) 645-1888

It’s crucial for everyone in PDA to make these calls, and to tell others to make these calls. TODAY! Be polite, but let them know you’re angry, and that you vote.

So many of us have poured our heart and souls into Medicare for All; our disappointment could lead us to give up. Any right worth having is worth fighting for, so the fight goes on. We’ll do our best to make this bad bill better in the House and in the Senate. Then we’ll take this fight to the states.

Susan B. Anthony, William Lloyd Garrison, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King didn’t give up-neither will we. Please, make those calls.

In solidarity,

Tim Carpenter for PDA

P.S. If you haven’t had a chance yet, please read Pelosi’s Not-So-Robust Public Option.